There is an old saying that March comes in like a lion but goes
out like a lamb - but in the case of the Republican Party of Texas, March
came in like a lion but went out like a herd of roaring elephants! The
first week of March was spent organizing our annual Republican Party of
Texas dinner, which we had to put together on relatively short notice. I
am glad that we decided to go ahead with it as it was a huge success,
raising $198,400. All but one of our statewide office holders were in
attendance along with seven State Senators and 60 State Representatives
(please see our previous
report for a full recap). The end of the month was focused on
preparing for our first quarterly SREC meeting (please see full SREC Recap
below). In between, the Party focused on its legislative agenda and
during the month of March we saw both the House and the Senate pass our
key legislative priority of voter ID legislation. The Party submitted
written testimony on behalf of the bill, sent out legislative updates to
the grassroots, and encouraged our base to contact their legislators and
make their voice heard on the issue. Also in March, the House passed its
version of the sonogram bill, which was another legislative priority for
the RPT.

March was also busy because the RPT faced
the deadline of March 31st to come to terms with the Fort Worth Convention
Bureau and Fort Worth hotels on exact contract language for the 2012 and
2014 state conventions, which the SREC had awarded to Fort Worth in 2005.
The convention committee headed up by Hal Talton, had its
work cut out for it as there were numerous contracts to review, issues
regarding space to resolve, facilities issues and rates to negotiate - all
which had to be accomplished by the end of the month. Hal tasked
Tom Washington, our RPT assistant treasurer, with
reviewing and negotiating with the hotels and making recommendations. Tom
and Executive Director Jesse Lewis traveled to Fort Worth
to discuss the convention-related issues with representatives of the
hotels and the convention bureau. Tom Washington has spent countless hours
overseeing this project, for which I am very grateful, as he saved me
valuable time, allowing me to focus on the fundraiser, legislation, and
preparations for the SREC meeting. He did an excellent job! SREC member
Neal Katz also spent many hours determining the Party's
space needs and deciding how to configure the convention center so as to
accommodate an increased number of delegates and alternates. When the
Convention was awarded there were approximately 6,000 delegates and 6,000
alternates - but in 2012, there will be 9,000 delegate spots and 9,000
alternate spots, so it presents quite a challenge to fit everyone in. Neal
came up with practical solutions to accommodate the larger number of
expected attendees. SREC member Becky Berger volunteered
time to investigate different companies who could stage and manage the
production of the convention. With their help, we were able to present all
these issues to the SREC and the Officials Committee, who approved
convention contracts for 2012 and 2014 for Fort Worth. (please see the
more detailed report on the Convention below).

As usual, in between our major projects I
took time to hit the road to connect with our grassroots activists. During
the week of March 1st, I spoke to the Llano Republican Club, attended the
TFRW Boots & Belles Gala at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, and spoke
the next day at the TFRW convention luncheon before approximately 900
Republican women. I also attended the Associated Republicans of Texas
Independence Day Dinner on March 4th, which featured Land Commissioner
Jerry Patterson. I am told that I am the first RPT state
chairman to regularly attend ART events. I feel we have established a
cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship between the two
organizations. The following day I traveled to Giddings to be the featured
speaker at their Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner.

The following week I spoke to a TFRW club at Dave &
Buster's in Austin, conducted a statewide telephone conference with state
party leaders in conjunction with Senator John Cornyn, traveled to Fort
Bend County to speak to the West Fort Bend Republican Women's Club, and
then went on to Houston to attend an event for Senator Cornyn. Also that
week, I made several trips to the Capitol to visit with Republican
leadership, and I had the opportunity to visit with, among others, State
Senator Dan Patrick, State Senator Robert
Duncan, State Representative Aaron Peña, and
Representative Allan Ritter, as well as the staffs of the
Speaker and Lt. Governor. Comptroller Susan Combs also
came by that week. She has made a practice of checking in with the Party
on a regular basis and continues to provide thoughtful advice for our
continued success. That Saturday I traveled north to Wichita County and
keynoted the Wichita GOP Lincoln-Reagan BBQ at the invitation of county
chairman Tom McCorkill. After the BBQ, I attended a
meeting of Wichita Falls leaders arranged by State Senator Craig
Estes that evening.

The week after was spent mainly at the
Capitol in preparation for the upcoming SREC meetings. I had the
opportunity while at the Capitol to observe National Committeewoman
Borah Van Dormolen be honored on the House floor by
the Texas House of Representatives for her service to veteran's groups.
That week I also attended the Harris County Lincoln-Reagan Dinner as a
guest of Harris County GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill. It
was a successful evening as they had a large and enthusiastic crowd. I had
a chance to meet and listen to their featured speaker, former Arkansas
Governor Mike Huckabee. It was the first time that I had
seen him live and I must say that I was very impressed.

The following week was devoted to
preparing not only for the SREC meeting that weekend but also for our SREC
Day on Thursday, March 24th. However, I was also able to work in my
attendance at a statewide conference of Latino Republican
leaders.

At the end of the week I joined numerous
SREC members at our SREC Day. This event was spearheaded by SREC
members Jason Moore and Russ Duerstine, and it
was a great success (please see full SREC report below). Likewise,
we had a series of productive SREC committee meetings the following day,
Friday and another productive full SREC meeting on Saturday. I am very
pleased that the SREC continues to maintain a cooperative spirit and that
any disagreements have been resolved amicably. I believe the SREC has
demonstrated through its first three meetings under my chairmanship that
they have the ability to unite behind the common goal of taking back our
country and winning the White House next year (please see SREC report
below for full details).

During the final week of March I met with members of the
Houston Pachyderm Club, of which I am a member. The Honorable
Martha Wong, a former State Representative and my good
friend, organized a legislative day at the Capitol for the group and
stopped by our headquarters for a tour and visit. I spent the last day of
March doing something a little different - I was invited by Sam Houston
University to participate in its "Let's Talk" fundraising dinner, which
consisted of having people from different backgrounds, organizations, and
walks of life lead table discussions.

Organizationally, our new Organizational
Director Beth Cubriel got her feet wet putting on her
first SREC meeting and has hit the ground running - updating our
organizational lists and compiling new ones. She is also beginning to work
on plans to organize campaign schools. Our Communications Director
Chris Elam has been working on a completely new website
format, which will feature a much easier navigational format, true event
calendars, news components, and a clean, updated look for our Party's
online presence. Keri Mason, our new Finance Director,
has initiated a project to update the Party's databases so as to merge all
of our lists into a centralized format that will allow our staff to more
quickly access and update our internal database. Already she and Chris
have added an additional 11,000 names and e-mail addresses to our
database, and we expect to be adding many thousands shortly. Keri has also
been working to develop an overall fundraising program for the Party,
which includes a multi-tiered donor approach, more prescribed benefits for
donors, and increased communication with our donor network. Austen
Bailey, our youth director, has worked with high school students
at several campuses in the Houston area to establish a new Teenage
Republican statewide organization. So far he has been in contact with
students or new members at half a dozen high schools. Travis
Griffin, our political director, has been preparing regular
updates on our priority legislation as it moves through the Legislature.
He is also in constant communication with Republican office holders
regarding the Party's position on legislation, and he does a great job
keeping me and our party leaders fully informed about our key
legislation.

On the financial front, we continue to
pay all of our bills, owing zero at the end of every month, and to
maintain significant cash balances (please see full report of finances in
SREC report below).

The next two months are critical for our
Party as the 82nd legislative session winds down. Tough choices will need
to be made regarding the state budget, and our legislative priority items
will be coming up for final votes after committee conferences. I feel it
is crucial for our Party's success in next year's elections that we end
the legislative session as strongly as we began. It is imperative that the
Party pass all of our legislative priority items - voter ID, the sonogram
bill, reduced spending, no raising of taxes and an end to sanctuary
cities. I plan to devote the majority of my time and the Party's resources
to these efforts, and I am confident that we will succeed!

Steve Munisteri,Chairman, Republican
Party of Texas

SREC
Update

SREC Day at the
Capitol

SREC members Jason Moore and Russ
Duerstine organized a very successful SREC Day at the Capitol. Its purpose
was multifold - to establish good relations between elected officials and
party leadership, to advise elected officials as to the Party's platform,
to push our priority items (voter ID and the sonogram bill), to receive
updates from elected officials, and to determine how the Party can support
our officeholders.

The day started off at RPT headquarters
at a breakfast hosted by Representative Larry Taylor. The
group then went to the Capitol and had its first visit of the day with
State Senator Dan Patrick. The SREC members then fanned
out across the building to talk to their individual representatives. After
that, a luncheon was arranged by State Senator Robert
Duncan, who spoke to the group about judicial legislation. The
SREC members then had a fruitful discussion with Speaker Joe
Straus, who assured the SREC that he was moving forward with the
Party's conservative agenda and answered any and all questions the group
posed to him. The group also had a meeting with Lt. Governor David
Dewhurst, who was particularly generous with his time, devoting
close to two hours to discussing issues with our members. After meeting
with Governor Dewhurst, the group met with State Senator Kel
Seliger, who provided an update on redistricting. The SREC
members in attendance were Tom Mechler, Mary Holmsley, Candy Noble, Don
Zimmerman, John Cook, Becky Berger, David Thackston, James Barnes, Bonnie
Lugo, Valoree Swanson, Leslie Recine, Jean McIver, Tom Washington, Russ
Duerstine, Jason Moore, Rena Peden, Jane Cansino, Johnnie B. Rogers, Amy
Clark, Eric Opiela, Angie King, Montie Watkins

SREC First Quarterly
Meeting

The SREC meeting kicked off with a prayer breakfast
led by our new Chaplain Rex Johnson. Reverend Johnson is
the Pastor at Austin's Christian Life Church. He was appointed for the
2011 calendar year by Chairman Munisteri to replace outgoing Chaplain
Bob Long. Following the prayer meeting, breakfast was
sponsored by Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, who
provided breakfast tacos and coffee for the committee. Mayor Leppert was
in attendance at our meeting and made himself available to speak with
members about his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by
Kay Bailey Hutchison.

The first order of the day was the
Chairman's Report. Chairman Munisteri announced that the theme of the
meeting would be a discussion of the 2012-2014 Convention site and
proposed contracts. Prior to discussing the Convention, Chairman Munisteri
outlined the general financial condition of the Party. He noted that all
bills continue to be paid on a current basis and all debt is brought to
zero every month. He first reviewed the Party's financial condition as of
the last meeting, at which time there was $750,000 cash on hand in all
accounts. As was previously predicted at the December meeting, the
Party's cash balance decreased over the holiday season but never fell
below $600,000. The previous goal was to keep the Party's balance above
$500,000 at the end of the year, so this goal was met. Munisteri also
reported that due to the very successful annual dinner the Party's total
bank accounts swelled to approximately $909,000, with no debt at the time
of the March meeting. Of the $909,000, approximately $49,000 of the funds
are in accounts where the money is reserved for specific purposes and
$100,000 is in the Party's "Rainy Day Fund." The Chairman also reported
that the Grassroots Club had approximately doubled in size from the last
meeting from a little over 200 members to a little over 400, and that
total Internet contributions now approximate $100,000 a year, which
represents about 8% of the money needed for our base budget. These numbers
represent a significant grassroots contribution to meeting the Party's
annual budget, but at the same time this number needs to rise
significantly in order for the Party not to be dependent on large donors.
The Chairman also cautioned that it will be impossible to maintain the
current rate of fundraising success and that he believes we will probably
have to draw down several hundred thousand dollars of cash during the
summer months because of the difficulty of raising money during the
vacation period. He stated that it was his goal to come out of the summer
with at least $500,000 cash on hand and no debt. As a result of the
anticipated downturn in fundraising over the summer, he cautioned against
spending too much of the existing cash and stated his preference that the
Party be conservative in its budgeting.

Vice-Chairman Melinda Fredricks gave an
inspiring talk designed to help our SREC stay mindful of their leadership
role in our state. To that end she recommended several books to the
committee including the books Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud
and Grant by Jean Edward Smith. The Vice-Chairman also spoke
about the importance of having heroes to look to as leaders - her own
favorite hero is Sam Houston, who did so many great things for Texas and
this country, despite being a man with deep flaws. She concluded her
remarks by encouraging SREC members to seek out ways to inspire others in
this next quarter, and to hold regular Senatorial District meetings back
home.

The next two hours were primarily taken
up with a report from the Convention Committee; it included presentations
by various vendors and representatives of the Fort Worth Convention Bureau
and a video presentation by the Omni Hotel. Tom Washington went over the
contracts. In an effort to ensure total transparency, the Chairman had
instructed that copies of all convention contracts be given to all SREC
members prior to the Officials Committee's voting on the contracts several
days later. Tom Washington recommended approval of the contracts subject
to some minor terms being re-negotiated.

Neal Katz presented a slide show that not
only outlined the Party's space needs but also suggested a configuration
for the setup and meeting space at the Convention Center. He indicated
that we could accommodate approximately 12,500 of the delegates and
alternates in the main hall, but that if the number is in excess of that,
some alternates will need to be seated in overflow rooms. However, aside
from that issue, it was his belief that we could make Fort Worth work -
although it might be tight. Janet Jackson of SD
24 also made a presentation about the different ideas for "pizazz" and
excitement that the committee will work on and bring to the 2012 state
convention.

Comptroller Susan Combs came and addressed the
SREC and spoke first about her commitment to help the RPT get ahead
of the 2012 elections by working to find money to support activities for
the party's efforts next year. She began by talking about this
current biennium's budget and how its problems are being solved. She
told us about the communication that existed between her office, Governor
Perry's and Lt. Governor Dewhurst's offices and how they worked together
to minimize the need to use "Rainy Day" funds to make up the budget
shortfall. In her remarks she also addressed the need for the
Legislature to prepare for the 2013 budget discussions now and to start
reviewing tax policy, specifically the business tax, which has
underperformed. At lunch all of the auxiliaries gave their reports, and
Attorney General Greg Abbott spoke to the group about
Obamacare and Texas's challenge to its implementation. General
Abbott talked about how his office is working to take the preliminary
steps in this fight in order to get the case to the Supreme Court as soon
as possible. The goal is to have this occur during the Supreme
Court's next term - with hopefully a ruling by June 2012. He is
working with some of the best advocates in the country in order to put
together the strongest team possible to argue this case. General
Abbott feels very confident about our position on this issue and our
chances before the court. He also spoke about our state's fight with
the EPA and the lawsuits Texas has filed challenging the overreaching
regulations that agency has handed down. He pointed out that over
the past decade Texas was No. #1 in the country in reducing ozone - more
than any other state. These changes were made while creating new
jobs and without federal mandates. Finally, he addressed our border
security needs and the efforts Texas is making to secure our border and to
find real solutions to the problem - namely, boots on the ground and
improved technology. After his speech the Chairman presented Attorney
General Abbott with his Chairman's Circle Award for having pledged $25,000
to the Party, of which $15,000 has already been received.

Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams spoke
and thanked the SREC for the opportunity to have worked during his 12-year
tenure as Railroad Chairman with so many great Republican leaders in the
room. He reminisced about being General Counsel to the Party in
1995-1999, the RPT platform chairman in 1998, and the convention chairman
in 2000. He was very warmly received.

In the afternoon, National Committeewoman
Borah Van Dormolen presented her report, noting that she had had the
opportunity to testify before the Senate State Affairs Committee on
the MOVE Act, which makes sure that our military and their spouses and
voting-age children have an opportunity to participate in our elections.
Borah spoke strongly in support of moving the Texas primary election
back to the first Tuesday in April in order to help fulfill our duty to
our troops. She then announced that the RNC State Chairman's meeting
will be held in Dallas on May 17-18 and that she is working to make that
meeting a memorable one for the RNC members. Borah also spoke of the great
effort that Texas volunteers put forth in helping to make phone calls on
behalf of a Republican state senate candidate in Louisiana, and how the
work by Texans made the difference for this candidate's victory! National
Committeeman Bill Crocker normally would have also given
his report; however, since he was appointed General Counsel of the
Republican National Committee and had to attend an Executive Committee
meeting in Washington, DC, he could not be present. It should be noted
that upon his return, he provided a full briefing to Borah Van Dormolen
and Chairman Munisteri.

Several resolutions were presented to the
SREC - a resolution that would move the primary election date from March
to April was unanimously approved. The primary date needs to be moved in
order for the state to comply with the federal MOVE Act as well as with
RNC rules. A resolution in support of a process to remove a county
chairman was defeated, although there was significant support on both
sides of the issue. Likewise, a resolution urging the Legislature to allow
state parties to decide if they would have a male/female requirement for
Chair and Vice Chair was defeated. A resolution by David Bellow relative
to posting the platform with more notice before a vote was passed. Also
passed were two resolutions urging the State Senate to confirm Governor
Perry's nominations of Gail Lowe for SBOE and
John Bradley for the Forensic Science Commission. A
resolution honoring Chaplain Bob Long for his service to the SREC passed,
and he received a beautiful award for his service. Also, awards were
handed out to past CRC Chairman Steve Findley for his
service leading that committee, and to our past Organizational
Director, Jenny Sykes, honoring her six years of
service at the RPT.

The next meeting of the SREC is scheduled
for June 2011.

Fort Worth Selected as 2012
Convention site

As a follow-up to the decision of the
Officials Committee, the RPT announces that the 2012 Republican Party of
Texas State Convention will be held on June 7-9, 2012, at the Fort Worth
Convention Center, with the adjacent Omni Hotel serving as the main
convention hotel. Further details and announcements will be
upcoming!